The Supreme Court of Iowa on Friday unanimously ruled that a 1998 state law that defines marriage between one man and one woman is unconstitutional. The decision effectively makes gay marriage legal in Iowa. Read the Iowa Supreme Court’s opinion. From a report in The New York Times: The decision was the culmination of a four-year legal battle that began […]
Read moreThe House and Senate passed President Obama’s $3.5 trillion 2010 budget proposal Thursday night without one Republican in either chamber supporting it. The Los Angeles Times presented this analysis: Voting along party lines, the House and Senate approved budget blueprints that would trim Obama’s spending proposals for the fiscal year that begins in October and curtail his plans to cut […]
Read moreThe U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday passed by voice vote the Free Flow of Information Act of 2009 (HR 985), legislation that would protect the public’s right to know by setting reasonable standards for when journalists can be compelled to disclose the identities of their confidential sources in federal court. The Senate is now considering similar legislation (SB 448), which […]
Read more(APN) ATLANTA — Last month, March 2009, New Mexico became the second state to outlaw the death penalty since the Supreme Court of the United States’ 1976 decision made the practice legal. Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson (D-NM) signed the legislation. New Jersey became the first state to do the same in 2007. Gov. Jon Corzine (D-NJ) signed the legislation. Other […]
Read moreYou knew it was just a matter of time. After being in then out, Atlanta City Council President Lisa Borders today officially reentered the race for mayor of Atlanta – and it looks like she’s staying this time. Borders now has an official Web site and this video on YouTube (re)introducing herself as a candidate. APN will attempt to interview […]
Read morePresident Obama in February signed the Making Work Pay tax credit, a law aimed at helping working Americans. This week, many are beginning to reap the benefits. The IRS set April 1 as the deadline for employers to institute lower withholdings for their employees. The Making Work Pay Act is essentially a tax cut, which the White House describes as […]
Read moreVice President Joe Biden and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack today announced the release of $10 billion through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) in guaranteed housing loans designed to jump start economic and homeownership opportunities in rural America. From a White House press release: Secretary Vilsack and Vice President Biden made the announcement at a fire station in […]
Read moreReps. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), chairman of the important House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Edward Markey (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Energy and Environment Subcommittee, on Tuesday unveiled The American Clean Energy and Security Act. The bill is designed to hasten the United States’ move away from coal and foreign oil as well as capture heat-producing gasses. The New York […]
Read moreAs the Georgia General Assembly entered the final week of the 2009 session on Monday, a broad coalition of business leaders, government leaders, transit advocates, road builders, and environmentalists called on lawmakers to reach a compromise on transportation funding. “We’re on the 1 yard line,” Doug Hertz, co-chair of the Get Georgia Moving Coalition, said. “We’ve got to cross the […]
Read more(APN) ATLANTA — The DeKalb County School Board is planning to open a military-style public high school in conjunction with the U.S. Marine Corps that would be the first of its kind in Georgia. But veterans, peace groups, and other anti-war organizations are quickly mounting a campaign against the school, which so far has included writing letters and emails. “I […]
Read moreOn Saturday, March 28, the Nipponzan Myohoji-Atlanta Dojo held a Flower Festival Ceremony, celebrating the birth of Lord Buddha and the arrival of spring. The ceremony concluded with the 6th annual presentation of the Lil & Bill Corrigan Peacemakers Award to the 6-year Stand for Peace vigil at Colony Square and to Georgia WAND. For six years, committed peacemakers have […]
Read moreA new report from Campaign for America’s Future reveals 8,722 more Georgia students would receive Pell Grants if excessive lender subsidies are cut. Such a change would provide an average Pell Grant of $3,010 to 181,580 students across Georgia. The bad news is that the average cost of tuition in a public college in Georgia increased 19 percent from 2000 […]
Read morePresident Obama announced Friday that the United States will send 20,000 additional troops into Afghanistan to fight Taliban and Al-Qaeda forces. In February, Peace Action, the nation’s largest peace and disarmament organization, bound together 19 other national groups to petition Congress to sign a letter to the president urging him to reconsider escalating forces in Afghanistan. “The 2001 authorization to […]
Read moreEnvironmental Georgia, Georgia Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), Georgia Rural Urban Summit, and Health Care for America joined together Friday with a national campaign that urges Congress to support and pass President Obama’s 2010 budget. “The investments in our nation’s future that President Obama is calling for will help make America more energy efficient, make health care better and more […]
Read moreThe U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Friday the release of millions more in aid for community health centers across the nation as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Georgia is set to receive $7 million in Increased Demand Services (IDS) funds, which will be distributed to 28 federally qualified health centers across the state. […]
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